June 22nd – The launch of Weave a Net

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.”

Once again we heard the story of the man who helped his neighbour. We talked again about what we had learned about mosquitoes and chanted our Tanzanian prayer. We made some mosquito masks with paper plates and straws and yarn. Then we practised for our part in the launch of the Weave-a-Net campaign. We practised and practised – the way we would move up the centre aisle, the way we would react to the huge mosquito following us, how someone would cry, “We need a mosquito net!” and how the people with the net would protect us … And then how the mosquito would try to get our dean – and how we would throw the net over him to protect him and ourselves.

Finally, it was time to go upstairs for Communion. After that, at the beginning of the notices, we skipped down the aisle with pamphlets about Weave-a-Net, when a sound caught our attention (it was Ruby and her violin – she made an amazing mosquito sound!).  We turned to see our teacher, Jonathan, with the giant mosquito and then young Jonathan cried “We need a mosquito net!” and in came the mosquito net.  We hurried away from the mosquito – and off to the side, when young Jonathan cried out again, “It’s after Paul – hurry, he needs a mosquito net!” – and we threw the net over the dean and all of us hid with him under the net – and the mosquito had to go away, disappointed.

Then we came out from under the nets and listened to Anika talk about having had malaria and how important the nets are. Tyson told us how we could all help, and Jan explained the prayer station at the back of the church made with a copy of the Tanzanian flag that we had painted the Sunday before.